I just had a look at the
I wish to second the vote for New Century Chinese-English Dictionary (Learners, Singapore, 2001 [Foreign Language and Teaching, Beijing, 1997]; ISBN: 981-4070-52-1). Though that Singapore version is not available on Amazon, it is available in Taipei at Lai Lai.
ABC Comprehensive is, well, not comprehensive. I frequently come upon modern words not in there. Unfortunately, when I contacted them to ask about submitting suggestions – which they ask for in the book – they didn’t reply. I was bummed since I had a growing list and was happy to help them. But it is my dict of last resort.
In side response to someone’s comment, there is a Chinese-Chinese/Chinese-English character dictionary. It’s the Xinhua. There is a very nicely printed, traditional character version from Commercial Press, Hong Kong (the one from China is yucky) available in Taiwan at Lucky Bookstore.
A little off topic, does anyone know of a large Chinese Chinese dictionary for the modern language? The MOE’s has plenty of standard words, but so far seems to be lacking for phrases and such. But I just found out about it a few weeks ago, so I’ll still give it a chance. It is good, but as someone said the definitions are not user friendly.
How much was it? I think I got a price of somewhere around NT$17,000 last I checked (+/- 3k). At that price, it’s the kind of thing you probably want to just use at an Academia Sinica or public library. I’ve begun a notebook of entries to look up there eventually. Unfortunately, the AcSin library didn’t buy the pinyin index, despite my recommendation that they do so.
[quote=“pinchrunner”]I just had a look at the
Any idea how to get a copy in Taiwan? :s
I have a copy with pages starting to fall out. You can have it for free .
Considering Screaming Jesus’ comment here
[Forumosa - Taiwan's largest and most active Taiwan-oriented global online community in English … ht=#276334](Leaving Taiwan, and my love
maybe we can make a deal 
Seriously, I don’t know, but it is apparently available in the US (as you can see on the link I gave you), and there are stores near TaiDa and ShiDa that specialize in books from the mainland and will order things for you.
I asked about ordering things from one of those book stores. To order, you have to be a member, which involves something like making a $3000 purchase. I assumed that the other mainland bookstores are the same. Has anyone been able to make a small order at one of those stores?
I’ve been successful with mail order in small quantities in both countries. In the PRC, 珍本 Zhenben bookchinese.com/default.asp sent me a small order after I wired them the money. They were very slow and screwed up the amount but did correct it later on their own initiative. In Taiwan, I’ve had success ordering directly from publishers, with wire or ATM transfers, but no experience with book stores per se.
There are at least two stores near Taida and one near Shida. I don’t know there names or addresses off hand and if I have their names written somewhere it would be in the US, so sorry. The one closest to Taida (of the two there I know) was going to order a single book for me, but I was leaving Taiwan at the time. Don’t ass-u-me, ok? Go to as many stores as you can find.
I have a copy with pages starting to fall out. You can have it for free .[/quote]
Thanks Dragonbones. I got a different Chinese-Pinyin dictionary now.
On a different note, I thought this was interesting: The CJK Dictionary Institute
I just got the Far East Multimedia Chinese-English dictionary.
It is SUCH A PIECE OF CRAP. :bravo:
I highly recommend it if you’re an IDIOT.
And it even includes games to test your… Bopomofo
All that for 1,500 NT
I am looking for a very good Chinese dictionary. Not bilingual. Just plain Chinese.
Most of the dictionaries I see do not provide the definition or definitions of a word, rather, they explain a word by giving another word for it, which is very frustrating.
So, anyone knows of a couple of GOOD dictionaries?
I like the Guoyu Huoyong Cidian published by Wunan for a general dictionary. The Xiandai Hanyu Cidian is also good for the same purpose and easier to look things up because its in ABC order.
Moving up the scale in seriousness, the Ciyuan is very good for classical chinese. Get the version published by the Shangwu yinshuguan on Chongqing S. Rd. The Hanyu Da cidian in 12 volumes is also excellent.
I’m afraid that all of these may have definitions that are a bit terse. But I think if you stick with it for a while you will start to get the hang of it.
[quote=“Feiren”]I like the Guoyu Huoyong Cidian published by Wunan for a general dictionary. The Xiandai Hanyu Cidian is also good for the same purpose and easier to look things up because its in ABC order.
Moving up the scale in seriousness, the Ciyuan is very good for classical Chinese. Get the version published by the Shangwu yinshuguan on Chongqing S. Rd. The Hanyu Da cidian in 12 volumes is also excellent.
I’m afraid that all of these may have definitions that are a bit terse. But I think if you stick with it for a while you will start to get the hang of it.[/quote]
Thanks mate, I’ll check those out.
One of the most useable dictionaries I have come across is the 漢英雙語 (C>C/E) version of the Xiandai Hanyu Cidian published by the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press in the PRC. It’s the 2002 edition of the Xiandai Hanyu Cidian with English definitions and translations of the example sentences. Unlike the Chinese only version of the Xiandai Hanyu Cidian, there are no traditional character versions of the C>C/E. That and a few commie flavored English definitions are the only drawbacks I see in it. If you are looking to make the transition into an all Chinese dictionary, this might help you get used to the dictionary-ese found in Chinese dictionaries more quickly since you can always glance at the English when a definition or example sentence leaves you a bit confused.
I’ve found that using Chinese reference materials has helped my vocabulary quite a bit. While uisng C>C dictionaries shouldn’t be tried too early, using L2 vocabulary to describe other L2 vocabulary changes the way the words in your vocabulary fit together. To me, it can have the effect of giving your interlanguage a good hard push toward being more like “standard” Chinese since you’re doing a lot more processing in the language. For me, though, it took three to four years of part-time study to get comfortable with C>C dictionaries.
Which is the best english-chinese/chinese-english dictionary in your opinion?
I would like to buy a really big book to put on my new shelf 
I like Langenscheidt’s dictionary. If you can find the large version, it is easy to read and fairly comprehensive.